Imam detained in Kyrgyzstan plotted terror acts, coup - Interior Ministry
OSH. July 2 (Interfax) - An imam from the Kara-Su mosque, one of the largest mosques located in Kyrgyzstan's southern Osh region, Rashid Kamalov, who was detained in March on suspicion of recruiting Muslims to fight in Syria, has been accused of establishing and training a terrorist group apparently plotting to subvert the constitutional system in Kyrgyzstan, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry's southern branch told Interfax on Thursday.
According to the spokesman, law enforcement agencies were aware of Kamalov's activities, and, acting at a request from the Kyrgyz Interior Ministry, Uzbek special services interviewed two Uzbek citizens, one of whom is the imam's relative. They confirmed the existing information.
These persons said that since 2011 Kamalov had funded the activities of the Hizb ut-Tahrir religious extremist organization, which is outlawed in Kyrgyzstan, and had advertized the ideas of extremism, Jihad and Sharia aw among faithful Muslims, the spokesman said.
Furthermore, an extremist group led by a Tajik citizen had been trained at the mosque planning to stage terrorist attacks and assassinate politicians in Kyrgyzstan.
The persons questioned by Uzbek special services also said that Kamalov had connections with foreign countries such as Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, had frequently visited them and had sent people there to fight alongside militants in Syria or to receive training in order to stage terrorist attacks in Kyrgyzstan.
The spokesman also said the two had confessed that Kamalov and his accomplices had planned to "use the capabilities of militants from terrorist organizations in Iraq and Syria, for which they had the appropriate financial resources", in order to subvert the constitutional system of Kyrgyzstan and establish Sharia law in the republic.
Kamalov is currently being held in custody, the spokesman said. The investigation opened against him continues and other suspects are being identified.
